1. Field
The present disclosure relates to computer-generated animation and, more specifically, to preserving and reusing intermediate data generated by processing nodes of a render setup graph for computer-generated animation.
2. Related Art
A computer-generated scene can be created by rendering one or more computer-generated objects to depict the scene. Light sources, materials, textures, and other visual effects can be associated with the objects to create a realistic visual appearance for the scene. A render setup graph can be used to define the objects and their associated visual effects to be rendered. The graph can typically include one or more interconnected nodes associating the objects and their visual effects, where a node can generate intermediate data that a downstream node needs to complete its processing.
The intermediate data can be very valuable to the downstream node. In some cases, however, the data can be difficult to generate and/or can require substantial time and resources to do so. As a result, rendering the scene can be substantially delayed while the downstream node awaits the intermediate data. This has often led animators or users to run batch processing on the render setup graph, sometimes overnight, while working on other projects.
Accordingly, there is a need to substantially reduce or eliminate the delay in the rendering process caused by intermediate data generation as well as to simplify the management of that intermediate data.